Among the Alsatian knights who, in the year 1147, went with Emperor Conrad III to the Holy Land to fight the infidels, was Lord Conrad, or Kuno, of Rappoltstein. He proved himself as strong as he was brave when the army of the crusaders was in Syria and besieging Damascus.
Suddenly, from the enemy army, a gigantic Saracen stepped forward. With insolent, mocking laughter, he challenged the boldest among the Christian warriors to single combat.
After a brief moment of thought, Lord Conrad of Rappoltstein offered himself as his opponent. Having skilfully parried several of the giant’s mighty blows, he struck such a powerful blow himself that he split the Saracen in two from top to bottom.
The emperor, in whose presence the man of Rappoltstein had won the fight, then granted him and all his lineage the right to bear the image of the slain Saracen as the crest upon their helmet.
Bernhard Herzog describes the coat of arms in his chronicle as follows: the lords of Rappoltstein bear three little red shields on a white field; on the helmet is a little armless man in white clothing, with three little red shields on his breast, wearing a yellow pointed Turkish hat; the mantling of the helmet is red and white.
